Are Negative Remarks About a Person’s Weight Offensive? — Survey of the Day

These days, over 60 percent of American adults are classified as overweight or obese.

Since the majority of Americans are currently packing on extra pounds, does that make it okay to make negative remarks about a person’s weight?

According to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll, lots of people think such comments are just fine. Sixty-one percent of the survey’s respondents do not consider negative remarks about a person’s weight to be offensive.

The survey also found that six percent of overweight people feel stigmatized. That percentage increases to 20 percent for the obese and 34 percent for the morbidly obese.